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British historian From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jonathan Simon Christopher Riley-Smith GCStJ FRHistS (27 June 1938 – 13 September 2016) was a historian of the Crusades,[1] and, between 1994 and 2005, Dixie Professor of Ecclesiastical History at Cambridge.[2] He was a Fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge.[3]
Jonathan Riley-Smith | |
---|---|
Dixie Professor of Ecclesiastical History University of Cambridge | |
In office 1994–2011 | |
Preceded by | Christopher N. L. Brooke |
Succeeded by | David Maxwell |
Personal details | |
Born | Jonathan Simon Christopher Riley-Smith 27 June 1938 Harrogate, England |
Died | 13 September 2016 78) | (aged
Citizenship | British |
Parent(s) | William Henry Douglas Riley-Smith Elspeth Agnes Mary Craik Henderson |
Alma mater | Trinity College, Cambridge |
Riley-Smith was the eldest of four children born into a prosperous Yorkshire brewing family. His maternal grandfather (to whose memory he later dedicated his book What Were the Crusades?) was the British Conservative Party MP, John Craik-Henderson (1890-1971).[4]
He attended Eton College and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he took his BA (1960), MA (1964), PhD (1964), and LittD (2001).[5]
Riley-Smith taught at the University of St Andrews (1964–1972), Queens' College, Cambridge (1972-1978), Royal Holloway College, London (1978–1994) as well as at Emmanuel (1994–2005).[2][3] His many respected publications on the origins of the crusading movement and the motivations of the first crusaders have deeply influenced current historiography of the crusades:[6] in an appreciative obituary, a senior colleague described Riley-Smith as "quite simply the leading historian of the crusades anywhere in the world".[7]
He was appointed a Knight of Grace and Devotion of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta and a Bailiff Grand Cross of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem.[8]
Riley-Smith appeared in the documentary series Crusades (1995) as an historical authority. However, the series adopted the views of Steven Runciman, which were not held by Riley-Smith. The producers then edited the taped interviews so that the historians seemed to agree with Runciman. Riley-Smith said of the producers that "they made me appear to say things that I do not believe!"[9] In 2006, he delivered the Gifford Lectures on The Crusades and Christianity at the University of Edinburgh.[10]
Riley-Smith was a convert to Catholicism.[5] He married Louise Field, a portrait artist, in 1968.[11][12] Their three children include the singer/songwriter Polly Paulusma.
Jonathan Riley-Smith died on 13 September 2016.[13]
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